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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A Future without Discrimination with Lisa Lane

Ours is a time of cultural progressivism and change, one in which increasing numbers of people are opening their minds to issues society has kept closed for far too long.Among those issues society has long repressed is the value we place on sexual orientation.

Lust in Space
Lisa Lane

I hadn’t thought much about sexual orientation until I began writing and reading more erotic romance.I realized early on that my writing focused on heterosexual couples, as did most erotic romances that were not specifically m/m, f/f, or ménage.Conversely, most works focusing on homosexual or bisexual characters tended not to delve too much into their straight characters.I suppose we all write what we know (at least most of the time) but I couldn’t help but wonder: Why don’t more works write across society’s imposed boundaries between the GLBT and heterosexual “communities?”

I was determined to defy that boundary with my Lust in Space stories.With the help of androgynous shape-shifters, an alien race that is primarily bisexual, and an alien species comprised of hermaphrodites, the series shows differences in sexual orientation not as an issue, but as a normal part of humanoid life. While the leading couple is heterosexual, I wanted to portray a future in which people were not defined by their sexual orientations, but by their personal characters. With that, I hope the Lust in Space books might not be defined by any particular sexual orientation, but by the character of their stories.

My most recent work in the series is “Super Nova,” which is in Lori Perkins’ most recent anthology, Three’s a Charm.The short story follows Suxie (introduced in Lust in Space) and Jocar (introduced in Pandora’s Hope) as they go on a mission in the shape-shifting Nova’s space.The couple, having first gotten together in Pandora’s Hope, has had its differences: Jocar was initially hired by Space-Corp to spy on Suxie and the rest of the crew; Suxie’s spirituality clashes with Jocar’s atheism; and Suxie is unsure about any future ménage activity—unsure she wants to share Jocar, her lovely blue hermaphrodite, with anyone else.The story is about lust, love, and a couple that transcends the two, testing their relationship and fortifying their bond with a night neither will soon forget.

Lisa Lane

I think an increased number of books will mesh sexual orientations as time goes on, so that many erotica works will not be labeled “GLBT” or “hetero,” but instead follow more closely the ideal we would like to see reflected in real life: a mesh that exemplifies cohesion of different people despite their differences.

Lust in Space, Pandora’s Hope, and Three’s a Charm are available in all electronic formats through Ravenous Romance, and are also available at Amazon and other major online retailers.

7 comments:

Pleasure having you here, Lisa, and you're message is so very important. To me, romance goes with the person, not the gender. And, I very much enjoyed your contribution to the "Three's a Charm" anthology!

Thanks, you two! I hope discrimination (in all of its ugly forms) becomes a thing of the past sooner than later. I think that as authors, writing about it is the best thing we can do to help effect that change.

A day too...*S* But I felt strongly about your post that I wanted to congratulate on something I feel so strongly about. although I have been married to the same wonderful man for going on 36 years, but I want this for all of those you have their HEA with whomever they love. I have felt this my whole life as I watch friends and and so many others denied over the years to be together. It's wrong and I'm not afraid to say and never have been.It doesn't matter your sexuality, and we are all human and deserve to live our lives without persecution by anybody else. It doesn't matter if others don't understand it, and it shouldn't be questioned by anyone either. It just is. Love is love, and it will exist until the end of time. I can't wait to read your book, and have put it on my gotta have list...*S*Thank you for the awesome post and subject...*S*Wishing you all the best!